Jacqueline Butler’s Heirloom Rose Tutorial

March 9, 2020

Our exquisite heirloom rose tutorial this week is by sugar flower superstar, Jacqueline Butler. Jacqueline’s work is admired the world over by her legions of fans who will be delighted to know that she’s now published a second book, Modern Sugar Flowers: Volume II.

The book features instructions and beautiful photographs on how to create 17 different sugar flowers: bougainvillea, miniature daisy, dogwood, tulips (a simple tulip and a parrot tulip), gardenia, Japanese anemone, peony, Icelandic poppy, the rose, heritage rose, heirloom rose, saucer magnolia, butterfly ranunculus, forget-me-not, petunia and clematis. Also featured in the book are six invaluable sugar flower arrangement styles and tutorials.

Sugar flower fans will find this book simply irresistible. Get your copy today!

Over to Jacqueline: “Known for their large beautiful blooms and amazing fragrance, heirloom roses are technically those that existed before 1867 and the emerging era of rose hybrids. But old is new again, and the vintage-like qualities of heirloom roses are making a comeback! Sturdy enough to stand on their own, they also look amazing mixed with smaller flowers and lots of gorgeous greenery. This beauty has four layers of petals, but don’t hesitate to add a few more at the last stage to add depth and fullness to your finished rose.

9. On a foam pad with a ball tool, thin the petal edges. Stroke the paste to stretch the petal a little and add some irregularity to the top edge.

10. Press the petal in a veiner.

11. On a foam pad, curl in along the top edge with a Dresden tool.

12. Lay the petal in a 2in (5cm) half sphere former to dry, curling over top edges towards the center. Leave to dry. Make two to three petals.

Making the Small Petals

13. Repeat the process described in steps 8-12, with a 15/8 x 13/4in (4.3 x 4.5cm) petal cutter. Leave to dry. Make three or four petals.

Making the Medium Petals

14. Roll more paste and cut a 11/2 x 17/8in (4 x 4.7cm) petal. Insert a 30g white wire and secure it at the base. Press the petal in the veiner.

15. This time lay the petal face down on a foam pad. Use a Dresden tool to curl the top edge of the petal towards you so it will end up curling backwards on the finished petal.

16. Feed the wire down through a hole in the 2in (5cm) former, smoothing the front of the petal to conform to the former. Let the top edge of the petal curl backwards over the top of the former.

17. To prevent the curls from collapsing, slide a paintbrush or wooden skewer underneath until they wooden skewer underneath until they are set. Leave to dry. Make five or six of these petals.

Making the Large Petals

18. Using 28g white wire and a 17/8 x 21/8in (4.7 x 5.4cm) cutter, repeat the same process of making and wiring petals described in steps 8-10.

19. Lay the petals face down on a foam pad. Use a Dresden tool to curl the top edge and a third of the way down the outer edges of the petals towards you so that they will end up curling backwards on the finished petals.

20. Curl some of the petals heavily so the top edges almost come to a point, as shown.

21. Feed the wires down through a hole in the 11/2in (4cm) former and smooth the front of the petals so they conform to the former. Let the top two thirds of the petal lay out on flat surface of the former. Leave to dry. Make five or six petals.

Dusting the Petals

22. Dust the base of the petals with pale Daffodil petal dust.

23. Dust the edges of the petals with a mixture of Cosmos, Pink and Cream. Draw the color from the outer edges inward but leave the middle of the petals the ivory color of the paste.

Assembling the Rose

24. Group your petals by size for quicker assembly.

25. Using white floral tape, attach the extra small petals at the base of the stamens.

26. Add the small petals directly underneath and around the extra small petals.

27. Add five or six medium petals, letting some overlap to avoid too much symmetry.

28. Add the large petals, again letting some overlap to avoid an overly symmetrical arrangement. Space or a gap between petals can look more natural. Tape all the way down over the wires to create a single stem. Steam the flower to set the dust colors and leave to dry.